The present invention relates to a tiltable steering device for a vehicle in which the steering wheel may be conveniently adjusted by the driver.
Tiltable steering devices for vehicles are well known. FIG. 1 schematically shows the alignment and inherent error when tilting one type of prior art tiltable steering device for an automotive vehicle. A steering wheel 1 is connected to the upper end of a steering shaft 2. The lower end of the steering shaft 2 is connected to a steering gear 3 through a connecting shaft 4. The steering gear 3 is fixed relative to the vehicle body (not shown). The upper and lower ends of the connecting shaft 4 are joined through respective universal joints 5, 6 to the steering shaft 2 and the steering gear 3. The steering shaft 2 is supported through a bearing by a steering column (not shown) the lower end portion of which is rotatably provided through a resilient member 30 such as rubber about a rotation point 11. A locking or clamping mechanism (not shown) is attached to an intermediate portion of the steering column for clamping the steering wheel 1 in any one of various predetermined positions. For example, the steering wheel 1 and the steering shaft 2 are adjustable within range between the uppermost position II and the lower most position III. The reference I designates a standard position of the steering wheel 1. When the position of the steering wheel 1 is adjusted, the universal joint 5 and the lower end of the steering shaft 2 rotate about the rotation axis 11 with the radius R1, and the upper end of the connecting shaft 4 rotates about the universal joint 6 with the radius R2. As a result, a gap L is formed between the lower end of the steering shaft 2 and the upper end of the connecting shaft 4. Such a gap L can be absorbed by the resilient member 30.
However, provision of such a resilient member increases the production costs of the steering device and decreases the rigidity of the steering device as a whole.